Self-control

Common card · No. 216489

Self-control is the ability to manipulate one's own emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. It is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core human executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals. As an executive function, self-control supports goal-directed behavior, planning, and decision making. In psychology, self-control is often distinguished from the broader construct of self-regulation, which includes the monitoring, adjustment, and maintenance of behavior and emotional states across changing situations. One influential model has described self-control as operating like a muscle that draws on a limited resource. In the short term, use of self-control can lead to the depletion of that resource. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve the ability to control oneself over time. Self-control is also a key concept...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Herbert James Draper, Public domain